The Sun. — London, England, 1838-12-22 00:00:00

IWashington, Dec. 3, 1838. REPEAL OF THE CORN-LAWS. ADJOURNED MEETING MEETING OT F HE CHAMBER OF COMNIERCE OF MANCHESTER. The adjourned special general meeting of the Chamber of Commerce for the purpose of considering the propriety of Petitioning the Legislature for a Repeal of the Corn-laws, was held on Th urs d ay , i n the rooms of the Chamber, Town 'tall-buildings, King-street. The attendance was as large, if not larger than at the original meeting. The President of the Chamber, Mr. G. W. WOOD, M. P., took the Chair. The PRESIDENT, after introducing the subject, mentioned, that the two concluding paragraphs in the petition prepared by th e Directors, and laid before the last meeting, had been withdrawn, as they did not seem to have given satisfaction ; and that they had instructed him to read the following, as, in their opinion, suitable to be substituted : " Your petitioners address your Honourable House on this subject in no spirit of partisanship. They do not desire the exclusive advantage of a class, but the equal good of all. They desire not to retain for themselves any protection which they protest against allowing to others, but are anxious to see every department of our national industry left to rest on its OWD resources and native energy. Considering therefore, as jupon the strongest grounds they do, that the operation of the Corn -laws is disastrously injurious to all their fellow-country men who earn their daily bread by their daily labour ;—that it is sapping the foundations of our national prosperity, by the unjust advantage it confers on the rival manufactures of other countries; that it is thus vitally opposed to the prosperity of ou r commerce a n d manu f actures ; an d cons id er i ng , more cver, that our agr i cu l tura l prosper i ty i s c l ose l y connecte d w i t h th ose two b ran ches of national strength, and must flourish as th eyflourish, and fail as they decay—your petitioners earnestly con jure your Honourable House that the existing Corn-laws r oa's be repealed." The matter was now open to be dealt with as the Chamber ..! e ight think expediert, and most likely to advance the object , 1 ! view. The Directors bad no idea of dictating to the :geetin g in what form they should express their sentiments, :ut they had considered it their duty when it was thought c ee essary to summon the Chamber, to be prepared with a pe tition, w hi c h , i n t h e i r op i n i on , wou ld b e su itable. • They ? P ished the meeting to consider that they acknowledged, 111 the Chamber, the most unlimited power of acting inde pendently of anything they might suggest, not doubting that a body o f gentlemen so numerous , so i n t e lli ge nt, and so deeply interested in the question, would do that which was !roost fitting for the character of the Chamber, and for the otferest s of the town with which the members were so closely connected. 1 ‘1 1. • J. C. DYER felt deeply interested in the issue of the Important question of the Corn-laws. It was a question t hat call e d f or the dispassionate consideration of the whole country, for we were in that state of danger, arising from ee rnpetition from abroad against our commercial prospe tnY, which called for the most prompt and energetic ex erti°ll upon the part of the whole people to remove the ca me of that danger. Being entirely ignorant of the course intended to be pursued, be had hurriedly prepared an amend reent t o th e paragraphs proposed by the Directors to be sub stituted for those withdrawn, which he would propose, not in t t i pasatagement of tneir proceedings, but because, in his opinion, • g e petition did not contain that energetic expression of feel on this subject which did or ought to pervade the public mi nd. We had heard much upon the subject of extreme ! Pinions, and much upon the subject of moderation. In pri ate life moderation was extremely laudable and desirable ; it added greatly to the courtesies of society, and was in every commendable; Wa y but upon public questions, where a P l ain matter of justice was concerned, he held the moderation * o „ much l au d e d t o b e hi g hly o bjectionable. A great deal of mischief arose from the use of the term, " moderation," when it was misplaced. The " moderados," the " juste "mieu," and the " moderates," then, all stood in a wrong I rition, because it was the duty of every man to promote e best and permanent interests of the country, and not ( . 0 stand half way between right and wrong. They (the Juste milieu) might prevent the perpetration of new wrongs, 011 t they were also very liable to prevent the removal of old a r b ' e • He was extremely anxious to see this greatest of all r uses, the Corn-laws, removed, for which purpose the ques sten ought to be stripped of all extraneous manner. It was a in dustry, question bete een a whole community, whose capital, °f reproduction, and talent, were respectively used for the purposes 1) r eproduction, and a class of men who obtained rents, ,inor dinately raised beyond what they ought to be, by reason of a Landlord monopoly. All persons, then, whether engaged in rtlufacturing or agricultural industry, or in the vari ous use- Professions in life, in shopkceping and other branches of il- de, the master-manufacturer and the eminent merchant— e short, every person whose talent, capital, and labour, were co njointly or i n di v id ua ll y d evote d t o the production of national ,ealth, th e su pply o f t h e nat i ona l wan ts, those parties were deeply i ntereste d i n o b ta i n i ng f oo d from every part of ,i s e world, at the cheapest rate, in exchange for the exp orts "' our manufactures. The landlords, to whom the benefit : f th e monopoly was secured, bad a certa i n num ber of per "B dependent upon them, and these were neutral in the question. These persons cared not whether food were dear Zr cheap, but all our domestics, and the parties employed fell us, were interested in our prosperity. If we fell, they : z it with us ; therefore it was those who lived, like ram- Ines upon the blood of the nation, that were interested t " keeping up the monopoly. The universal people were in terested upon the other side. The acts of legislation upon :Is subject were specimens of extreme ignorance and selfish ness, eminently disgraceful to the Legislature that passed e ss e ro ; and as an individual, he would not consent to shrink be the expression of the indignation and resentment which ' ll e felt, in consequence of the mischief thereby inflicted upon It was said we must offer a boon for the concession of l a natural and most essential of all rights; that we must concedesil the repeal of all the duties upon manufactures. Now a first duty of all legislation was to provide for a supply of rood at the cheapest and best market, for the universal people; _luld that right he demanded upon the principle of justice, and fl,e,t upon any principle of compromise, or of yielding up some- Rang else. If our manufactures could stand against corn- Petition with every protecting duty repealed, he should re joice; but he did not consider it right to mix up the two questions. Whenever any impost upon manufactures ope rated injuriously to any class, even to the landlord class , if the y ;Quid show him that some of the articles they consumed, the o ' ... lorriond s and jewels that decorated their persons, by the duties e .fpanufacturers— Ivl,r. SMITH—They pay no duty upon diamonds. 1, .."Jr• DYER —Well, if they could show that the protection of "3' branch of manufacture was injurious to them, or to any Par t of the community, he should be very glad to see that Pro tection repealed. The assertion that we were now in a co ndition to remove all protective duties upon manufactures, to as not true. He was happy to say it was true with regard t he great flourishing manufactures of this town and district, and t was really a national honour, and a matter of pride and gr atification to ourselves, that we had so managed pur indus- D h 8 0 nobly carried on our manufactures prosperously and 4 1 °44(131 y , in defiance of foreign competition, even under all ,_e burdens we suffered. But there were other branches of manufacture of great importance, with which we were not ~`"leediately connected, in which it would be well in us to t• z r aY for a removal of protection. He would take for ample all the manufacturing industry which was em _eYed upon the material of leather — such as harness- Zakers, saddle-makers, and boot and shoe-makers, of whom there were a great number, especially in the rural dis de.ta• Here came again the landlord—he had secured a heavy oPon the importation of forein necessary hides, and 41 7 for his protection. It was that s, there m ould be a duty to protect this manufacturing industry, tom One wa s imposed upon boots and shoes, and all articles t .„ Posed of leather. He would not trouble the Chamber by furt her d eta i l i ng these things, but he had thought it right to h i e tion them, t o see h o w far it was proper to co m p ro mise pi 8 question, how far we should demand it as an inherent gh, and then we could meet fairly all those persons who 5 r % 1 : 14 Prove they had been damaged by the removal of this ps a n° P e lY. Then he came to demand that the petition should thi Y for an absolute, unqualified, and immediate revocation of 8 "bat law. re Th e Priestoesm—The petition does pray for immediate - eal, Mr • n not a • DYER. —But he was persuaded that if the Chamber did r e „,,, -( Mand in language that could not be misunderstood, the ,01,,eation of this unjust law, a compromise would be demanded, tai's.even acceded to, by those who were ordinarily called Libe- Pos e d One of the most eminent of those gentlemen had pro 00r a duty of 10s. a quarter upon the importation of foreign n ' robbe of twenty-five w or d s , that the ccuntry should submit to be twenty-five millions a year, for the estimated con m3pt`l tar en was fifty m illi ons o f quarters, so that at 10s. a guar thi B d . 11 tY, the l oss wou ld b e twenty -fi ve m illi o ns a year. With tort of compromise be could not agree, Mr. Dyer having 11,Isro to up on a perrormance of their obligations. To relax tm this sa.utary rule because the Sminoles have maintained themselves so long i- the territory they had relinquished, and, in defiance of their frequent and solemn engagements, still continue to wage a ruthless war against the United States, w ould not only ev i nce a want o f constancy on our part, but be of evil example in our intercourse wish other tribes. Ex perience has shown that but little is to he gained by the march of armies through a country s ) intersected with inaccessible swamps and marshes, and which from the fatal character of the climate, must be abandoned at the end of the winter. I recommend, therefore, to your attention the plan submitted by the Secretary of NN ar in the accompanying report, for the per manent occupation of the portion of the territory freed from the Indians, and the more efficient protection of the people of Florid a from their inhuman warfare. Admitting that the adoption of the laws of Maryland for a Portion of the district confers on the Circuit Court thereof in that portion, the transcendent extra -judicial prerogative powers of the Court of Queen's Bench in England, or that either of the Acts of C ongress, b y necessary implication, aut h or i se t h e former court to issue a writ of mandamus to an officer of the United States, to compel him to perform a ministerial duty, the consequences are, in one respect, the same. The result, in either case, is that the officers of the United States, sta tioned in different parts of the United States are, in respect to the performance of their official duties, subject to different l aws and a different supervision—these in the States to one rule, and those in the district of Columbia to another and a very different one. In the district their official conduct is subject to a judicial control, from which in the States they are exempt. Whatever difference of opinion may exist as to the expedi ency of vesting such a power in the judiciary, in a system of government constituted like that of the United States, all Must agree that these disparaging discrepancies in the law and in the administration of justice ought not to be permitted t o continue • and, as Congress alone can provide the remedy, the subject is unavoidably presented to your consideration. M. VAN BUREN. again expressed his opinion that the petition had not suffi cient energy, proposed to add the following to it by way of rider:— " That the Acts of 1815 and 1823, relating to the importa tion of corn, and more especially the existing law of 1838, passed with a full knowledge of the pernicious effects of the former Acts, are instances of ignorant and selfish legislation, which stamp with indelible disgrace the Parliament which passed them ; and the continuance of this law, fraught as it is with cruel injustice to the industrious consumers, is inconsis tent with the duty which all Governments owe to the people, of keeping open to them the best and cheapest markets for an abund int supply of food ; and that this law is alike opposed to the principles of humanity, and the peace and welfare of the country." He conceived that a stronc , expression of opinion from this community, embodied in a shape' something like this, would be useful, as tending speedily and entirely to remove the evil against which the Chamber proposed to petition. Mr. J. B. SMITH would second M. Dyer's proposition by way of eliciting discussion, but without pledging himself as to what course he should hereafter take. The PRISIDRNT presumed that gentlemen who moved and seconded a proposition intended to vote for it. Mr. SMITII said he should be guided by circumstances. Mr. COBDEN introduced his observations by apologising, if he had, either in matter or manner, given offence at the - last meeting. This question, he continued, was not a personal question ; it was one of prominent importance to the whole of the country ; and prompted by a sense of duty, he must say he was disappointed that the Directors had not come before the Chamber with a different petition, for it was with that expecta tion alone that he consented to withdraw his amendment at the last meeting. It was then expressly requested, by almost every individual who spoke in advocacy of the adjournment, that the petition proposed by the Directors should be altered, with the view of incorporating certain facts, many of which were new, and others were so condensed as to become novel and new ; and he must reiterate his disappointment that those facts had not been incorporated. Mr. TOOTAL said the petition had been consented to by Mr. Smith, with the addition of the two paragraphs at the end. He mentioned this to show that the instructions of the Chamber were, not that the whole petition should be re-modelled, but that some observations should be introduced at the end, to strengthen it. Mr. COBDEN—Much as he respected his friend Mr. Smith, and grateful as he felt for his exertions in this cause, he did not in this matter refer to him. He appealed to the sense of that meeting, and he reiterated that on the last occasion it was expressed, and generally concurred in, that it was desir able the petition should incorporate some of the facts then brought before the Chamber. And without such facts, he maintained that the reasoning which had been given in the petition would have no more effect or influence than if it were the thesis of some Dublin collegian; unless the Chamber brought forward facts, the reasoning which had been given by Adam Smith, and bandied about for many years past in the newspapers, would have no weight whatever in the quarter to which they were appealing. The facts which Mr. Smith brought forward with regard to the progress of manufactures abroad, should unquestionably be referred to; the progress of mechanical spinning abroad should have been referred to. If the facts were called in question he presumed the stockings would not be disputed; but supposing the facts should be questioned, then there was excellent ground for an ad ditional adjournment for the Directors to inquire into them ; but they should not be debatable; and when ascertained, they should be forced upon the Government with all the authority that this Chamber could give them. There was another question, the facts of which might be usefully re ferred to—he alluded to the great commercial system esta blished in Germany, upon which our prejudices arid our na tional pugnacity had been invoked, but upon which those who had the guidance of public opinion had studiously avoided the truth. The great commercial league was regarded by the German people as a most excellent measure. Its intention was to unite the German family in one body, as far as com merce, interest, and one uniform line of custom-houses could unite them ; and as far as that design went it was entitled to our highest admiration. It was an union which, for the first time in the annals of the world, had been formed without a political bond ' • it was not an union of persons eating up the nation's strength in the disastrous incidents of legitimacy and disputed succession ; it was not a perishable treaty made by diplomatists on paper to be broken and evaded as hundreds had been before, but a commercial confederacy : in fact it was a partnership entered into by the German people among themselves, for the purpose of facilitating their trade, allowing travellers and dealers to pass the frontiers and transact their business from Belgium to Russia, and from the Tyrol to the Baltic without hindrance. As far as these objects were concerned, the German league was a great and benign measure ; but we had been told that it was formed as a hostile measure towards England and English trade, and that the Prussian Cabinet had no other motive but that of injuring us. So from this it seemed our prejudices must be appealed to, and our combativeness, altogether misdirected, be sent forth fighting with Russia and every country, except the statute which alone prevented the extension of our interest. That commercial league had other objects more important than injuring us, namely, the settlement of the tariff of the whole country. But that tariff was changeable. For three years a congress of States had met to arrange the tariff. The Chamber was aware that the highest duty imposed upon the introduction of manufactured goods was 150 per cent., or nearly ls. 6d. per pound; but when he was travelling within the pale of the league, he made it his business to procure semi-official introductions with the view of obtaining accurate information, and it was his firm conviction, from what he heard, that including Saxony itself, there was not an intelligent man in Prussia, Wurtemburg, or Bavaria, who did not say " it is in your own power to reduce this tariff one-half, upon the only condition that you take the produce we have to give you." And he would give the Chamber the verywords of an intelligent official man in Berlin on this subject : he said, " Send us a commercial representative, a man representing a commercial people, and understanding the 'interests of a commercial people, and you will find no difficulty in having an extensive commerce here; but, if you send an agriculturist, a man re presenting an agricultural people, to do the behests of the do minant interests, we can have no trade with you, for we are agriculturists ourselves." The extent to which the league had reached, solely on account of the obstacles to trade which our Corn-laws had interposed, the Chamber might estimate when he mentioned that it comprised twenty-five millions of the most intelligent people on the continent, that it included four monarchies with four capitals, with a score of minor sove reignties, each having a nucleus in its capital for the consump tion of luxuries. They would now see the extent of the injury and to what extent the league was calculated to foster the in dustry of a state like Saxony, which now, instead of being a kind of manufactory for millions of people, supplied 26 millions. But this was the most important element in the opposition they must expect from Germany—not only the fabrics or goods which were manufactured there, but the security and confidence that was visible. A feeling of se curity had sprung up within the last three years which had induced and invited capitalists to establish manufactories, to spread capital through canals and railroads, and joint-stock banks; this security had enabled the Germans to put out and sustain paper money, and all this security and confidence were the growth of the league, and would become the elements of a powerful competition with ourselves, seeing that we had hitherto almost exclusively possessed this feeling of security ' and confidence. At Dresden and Leipsic a joint-stock bank had been started, with a capital of 500,000 dollars. He had one of their notes in his hand, and one of the Directors had told him that not a shilling of paper money could have been got into circulation. Surely, also, some reference should be made in the petition to the fact of the great internal improve. ments going on abroad, in the shape of railways, roads, and canals. These, again, had hitherto formed our exclusive monopoly, but they were a monopoly no longer. Railways were being constructed in every part of the Continent. Belgium was more completely intersected with them than any other country in the world. In Prussia they were running one through the empire. In Sax ony one was nearly completed between Dresden and Leipsic, and from Magdeburg to Leipsic ; and probably next year one might go from Hull to Leipsic, the centre of Europe by steam ; thus giving the stocking makers of Lem nitz an equality with the Nottingham manufacturers. Austria, Russia, and even Switzerland were busily constructing railways, and surely these circumstances ought to be referred to as one reason why we could not afford to be left in this adverse po sition as to the price of food. But there was one point he would have kept prominently in view, and that was the im pending evils that hang over the heads of the working classes. That should be made prominent before Parliament, for in his belief nothing but invoking the alarms of the landed aristo cracy would have the slightest effect upon their measures. Surely they (the Chamber), sitting in the centre of those multitudes of labourers who might very speedily be thrown out of employment, and consequently without the means of subsistence—surely, he said, it became them (the Chamber), to read the signs of the times, before they could be seen in London. Ought they not to be the first to give the warning? Why was this incendiary language and these torch-light meetings ? Think you men left their families if they had comfortable homes, if they were well fed and well clad, if they bad a good bed, and were simply comfort. able? No. They go to these meetings because their in dustry is unprofitable, though severe ; because there is an immense mass of human, physical suffering abroad; therefore, it became the interest, no less than the duty, of the Chamber to represent to Government the evils of such a state of things. He was not sanguine, though of a sanguine temperament, that anything the Chamber could do or say would have the slightest chance of avail with those who had the power of legislating for their own exclusive interest, irresponsible to the people at large. But unless an effort were made, commensurate with the evils impending over us, the responsibility would not lie with those who lived in London, or with those who were fox hunting in the country, or living luxuriously abroad, but with ourselves. He had prepared a petition, which he would read to the meeting, but not move its adoption. Mr. Cobden then read the following petition : " HUMBLY SUENVETU— " That your petitioners deem it their imperative duty to call the immediate attention of your Honourable House to the consideration of the existing laws affecting the free importation of food. " That your petitioners would premise that you are already acquainted with the nature and extent of the cotton trade ; combining, as it does, a larger amount of capital, with greater enterprise and skill, and giving more extension and better regulated employment than any other branch of manufacturing industry. This source of increasing population and wealth, which is now become essential to our well-being as a nation, owes no sort of allegiance to the soil of England ; and if it has grown up wi t h a rapidity unparalleled in the annals of trade, history affords us many examples to show how speedily it may, by misgovernment, be banished to. other shores. That your petitioners view, with great alarm, the - rapid extension of foreign manufactures ; and they have, par ticular, to deplore the consequent diminution of a profitable trade with the continent of Europe; to which, notwithstatd iog the great increase in population since the termination of the war, the exports have actually been less in value during the last five years, than they were during the first five years after the peace; and whilst the demand for all those articles in which the greatest amount of the labour of our artisans is com prised has been constantly diminishing, the exportation of the raw materials has been as rapidly increasing. " That several nations of the continent not only produce suf ficient manufactures for their own consumption, but they sue. cessfully compete with us in neutral foreign markets. Amongst other instances that might be given to show the formidable growth of the cotton manufacture abroad, is that of the cotton hosiery of Saxony, of which owing to its superior cheapness, nearly four times as much is exported as from this country, the Saxons exporting annually to the United States of America alone a quantity equal to the exports from England, to all parts of the world ; whilst the still more important fact remains to be adduced, that Saxon hose, manufactured from English yarn, after paying a duty of 20 per cent., are beginning to be intro duced into this country, and sold for home consumption, at lower prices than they can be produced for by our own ma nufacturers. " That further proof of the rapid progress, in manufactu ring industry going on upon the continent, is afforded in the fact that establishments for the making of all kinds of machi. nery for spinning and weaving cotton, flax, and wool, have lately been formed in nearly all the large towns of Europe, in which skilled English artisans are at the present moment diligently employed in torching the native mechanics to make machines, copied from models of the newest inventions of this country ; and not a week passes in which individuals of the same valuable class do not quit the workshops of Manchester, Leeds, and Birmingham, to enter upon similar engagements abroad. " That the superiority we have hitherto possessed in our unrivalled roads and canals, is no longer peculiar to this coun try. Railroads, to a great extent, and at a less cost than in England, are proceeding in all parts of Europe and the United States of America ; whilst, from the want of profit able investment at home, capital is constantly seeking employ ment in foreign countries ; and thus supplying the greatest de ficiency under which our rivals previously laboured. " That whilst calling the attention of your Honourable House to facts calculated to excite the utmost alarm for the well-being of our manufacturing prosperity, your petitioners cannot too earnestly make known that the evils are occasioned by our impolitic and unjust legislation, which, by preventing the British manufacturer from exchanging the produce of his labour for the corn of other countries, enables our foreign rivals to purchase their food at one half the price at which it is sold in this market; and your petitioners declare it to be their solemn conviction that this is the commencement only of a state of things which, unless arrested by a timely repeal of all protective duties upon the importation of corn, and all fo reign articles of subsistence, must eventually transfer our manufacturing industry into other and rival countries. " That deeply impressed with such apprehensions, your petitioners cannot look with indifference upon nor conceal from your Honourable House the perilous condition of those surrounding multitudes whose subsistence from day to day de pends upon the prosperity of the cotton trade. Already the million have raised the cry for food. Reason, compassion, and sound policy demand that the excited passions be allayed, otherwise evil consequences may ensue. The continuance of the loyal attachment of the people to the established institu tions of the country can never be permanently secured on any other grounds than those of universal justice. Holding one of those eternal principles to be—the inalienable right of every man freely to exchange the results of his labour for the pro ductions of other people; and maintaining the practice of protecting one part of the community at the expense of all other classes to be unsound and unjustifiable, your petitioners earnestly implore your Honourable House to repeal all laws relating to the importation of foreign corn and other foreign articles of subsistence, and to carry out to the fullest extent, both as affects agriculture and manufactures, the true and peaceful principles of free Trade, by removing all existing obstacles to the unrestricted employment of industry and capital.—And your petitioners, &c." In throwing this petition upon the table he should merely my that he regarded the addition made by the Directors to the former petition, as recognizing the principle of free trade. It probably might have been a little less ambiguously expressed, but let not the Chamber lope sight of the important fact that their discussion would command considerable attention else where. The proceedings of the last meeting had already at tracted the attention of the people in London and other places, therefore it was important that whatever petition were put for ward, should be clear, emphatic, and precise, that it might operate upon the Cabinet, and more especially upon the Mem ber for Manchester, who was a Cabinet Minister. Mr. Poulett Thomson should be made to see that the people of Man . . chester were so intent upon this subject, that he, as their representative, and as a Minister of the Crown, must iden tify himself with them. That Mr. Thomson had not hi therto done so, he (Mr. Cobden) publicly maintained ; Mr. Thomson had not come forward in the House of Commons, as an advocate of these great principles, in the way that Mt. Huskisson did when he was representing a monopoly interest. Mr. Thomson must know that he was returned to Parliament by a free trade interest and no other ; and he must know that, as that interest claimed nothing but what was just, he ought to avow himself a patriotic minister, and no longer bow the knee to an imperious landed Aristocracy. That he had done so—that he had bowed the knee to the landed Aristocracy, he (Mr. Cobden) had evidence to prove. When he was in Berlin, au official in the Prussian government told him the Cabinet had declared that the Corn-laws were the only obstacle to a trade with Germany. Mr. Cobden read an extract to this effect, from a letter written by this gentleman, in which the writer mentioned, from authority, that the Prus sian Minister in London had repeatedly pressed Mr. Poulett Thomson to admit corn from Prussia, but that the application was disregarded. This fact might easily be ascertained. Either Mr. Poulett Thomson must be a bona fide and staunch representative of Manchester, or Manchester must depend upon herself. With these remarks he should leave the Chamber to deal with the petition as they thought proper. The original petition was here formally moved by Mr. MAc_ rtean, and seconded by Mr. TOOTAL. Mr. DYER then moved, as an amendment, the adoption of Mr. Cobden's petition, and in the course of hie address he re peated his former arguments for a repeal of the Corn-laws. Mr. R. H. GREG, of Quarry Bank, seconded the amendment. He thought the original petition, as Mr. Cobden had said, too much in the nature of a thesis, and too moderate, and he sup ported the other not only because there were more facts stated, but because it was written with greater vigour and earnestness. It had been remarked by a great writer, that no great body of men ever got justice except through the influence of fear ; and it was universally so—you could not command attention unless you showed that you were in earnest, unless you threatened. Catholic Emancipation and Parliamentary Reform were car ried in this way, and the same plan would be necessary to effect the repeal of the Corn-laws. That was a cause of life and death, not only with the masses of this district, but with the whole population of England. There was an immense mass of interest united against them, and, therefore, he must say that he could see no chance for the repeal of these laws except by the assumption of a determined tone. Perhaps too much had been said as to the competition of foreign rivals in markets common to them and to us, but there was one fact which should have preceded all those remarks. It was this that every country had its protective duties. What was the effect ? Why to give those countries the entire supply of their own markets, and what was that but cutting us off first from one, then from another, and finally from all ? We knew that it was impossible to compete in the German market with the protective duty of Is. 6d. a pound ; we knew that in Ame rica it was impossible to compete with the protective duty of 20 per cent., therefore, whether we could compete in common markets or not, it was evident we were being driven first from one market, then from another, and that finally we should be beaten from all. Now this was a question independent of foreign competition. We merely supplied these markets till they could supply themselves. In the beginning of last year, he had furnished to him a list of foreign orders to this country for machinery only to the amount of five hundred thousand pounds I This machinery was entirely for Belgium, Switzerland, and Germany, and the Chamber might readily suppose that the gap which these nations felt in the supply of their own markets would now easily be filled up. And be might mention that the effect of this increasing compe tition had already begun to he felt in our own markets ; that last year, in his own concern, they had to break up 200 looms which used to supply one market ; and that this year they should have to break up 200 more, which were used to supply another mai ket. With such facts as these to refer to, a mild, timid, and reasoning petition was not likely to make stillan y the commonimpression,no r market v en to commandoof the I‘r world t t e opentinon.a.fteTrhearn this There was s foreign competition, but that was a very serious question. a We had seen that Switzerland now exported three-fourths of all her manufactures, although no country was worse situated for the purposes of exportation except Austria, for sbe had no ports, yet she exported so much after supplying her own markets. The increase of spinning mills upon the continent had been most rapid, and his brother, who had last year visited a great variety of these establishments, reported, what he ( Mr. Greg) had previous information of, that their ma. ebinery was fully equal to ours ; that it was made upon the spot ; and that though it cost something more than ours, that was owing to the immense profits making by the mechanists. The productionsof their spinning mills exceeded the production of ours—that is to say, their mills averaged from 19 and 21 hanks of 40's twist, and there were mills that turned off 19 banks of 60's twist in a day. This might appear almost incredible ; but a mechanic, who had visited the mill he alluded to, told him it was done bona fide, and said to him, " I bad no conception of the rate they are going on in these countries ; and, my word, before seven years are over you must look about you or you'll be beat." As to the medium qualities of cloth, there was no doubt whatever that the articles of Switzerland and Germany would beat us out of any common market after they had sup plied the demand for their own consumption. With regard to America, they beat us absolutely in some particular articles. He would read an account of the exports of America for the the last few years, to show the regular increase which had been going on, and which could only be accounted for by the handsome profits derived by the manufacturers. He had here a large packet of American grey and printed cloth, on which, whilst his own concern in 1835 were clearing fivepence a piece, the Americans were clearing a dollar. In 1835 the value of exported American goods amounted to two million eight hundred thousand dollars. He had no particular return for the last two years, bat within the last eighteen months he had the best means of knowing that the increase in their exports was such that twenty thousawl THE SUN, LONDON, SATURDAY, DECEMBER 22, 1838 bales of their goods were sent round the Cape of Good;Hope, and sixteen thousand bales to South America. It was said that the Americans could not compete with us in grey cloths, but he would inform the meeting that the gentleman who went from this country some years ago, and established the first mill in one of the States, had cleared about two hundred thousand pounds by this species of manufacture. This fact he (Mr. Greg) had from the gentleman's son himself, and it was not likely they would go on exporting so largely if they had no profits. And the same gentleman, when with him, said— " We have pushed these fabrics beyond the market, and we are now turning our attention to spinning low numbers of twist, for the German market." These were facts which filled him (Mr. Greg) with alarm ; but what alarmed him most was this, that our own manufacturers and merchants, men who ought to know better, were not only ignorant of them, but were absolutely incredulous. In his mind this was the most alarming feature of the whole. It was not the interest of the landed gentlemen that bound them so much together, but it was our own ignorance and indifference; and to such a degree had this ignorance and indifference acted upon the minds of himself an partners, that they had coma to the determination to make no increase whatever in their manufactories here, but to look abroad ; and they bad, more than once, been upon the point of forming establishments out of this country,' in Germany, and very probably in America. Such was their conviction of the effect of the Corn-laws. One point remained to be noticed ;it was this,—if this is the ease, what can be done? flow can we retrace our steps? The only chance of escape was to repeal the Corn-laws, the opera tion of which was this : the imposition of Corn-laws first de prived our customers of the means of payment, for by those laws we said we would not take their money. It was not a question of money on the one hand and poverty on the other, but we distinctly said, " We do not like your money." The next step was to make the foreigner a manu facturer, the next step in the process was to give to him cheap food and to us dear food, and so on till our ruin was about to be consummated. Now repeal the Corn-laws, and the first effect was to give the foreigner dearer and ourselves cheaper food, to create customers where e had no customers before, to found an agricultural interest, there to prependerate against the manufacturing interest, and to make this newly created int e r es t to mo d erate t h e high protective duties sought by the manufacturers, by saying of us " these are our customers." What said the southern states of America. when the northern whiled to have high protection? " These are our customers," said they, " these high duties will interfere with our trade." So it would be in Germany ; the agriculturists would say " these are good cus tomers of ours ; we cannot allow you to impose these high du ties." We might return to a prosperous state, if we would thus exchange our clothing for food; for they were the great articles of interchange which never could end, and to which no limit could be assigned, for both were necessaries. If we did this millions might exist abroad that did not now exist ; and in our own country millions might exist who had no existence now. But, to put the case in an extreme point of view, suppose we had an extra twelve millions of population consuming our foreign corn and not one quarter of English wheat, what would be our con dition ? In the first place, double the population would con sume double the quantity of butchers' meat, double the quan tity of milk, and a greater quantity of land would be required ; consequeritly the land, instead of declining in value, would ac tually be advanced. So far there was no fear for the owners of land, except in the continuance of the present odious and impolitic law. If we doubled the population, we should have only half the taxation; and supposing we reduced th e t axat i on one-half, and doubled the population, we thereby doubled the demand for agricultural produce, and we should all be in a more prosperous condition. Every approach to this state of things would make us so much the more prosperous ; with one million more we should soon have two millions, and so we should en ; u d ho rte v : f,o e a inprg a, tcrer our 'goods o t h er e cg re of f uoo o lrd r de e si thereforeign h o n a t countries afford,o uit n was no need for the landed int er e s t t o be alarmed. B ut a f ter all it was more important to have a re tasr• e s s at could to the have l aoffs loss roudfr to f o o u o pr d r to rsdaundpeepe, food iteo take f t ko a er their produce ; for if we would not take their payment, we could not trade with them. Upon the other hand, whatever the food cost, if we took it in return for our goods, we could afford to buy it. The inhabitants of Poland, and the Euxine might give us two quarters of wheat where they now give us only one, upon the condition that they should be enabled to purchase their clothing at a low rate. And if they did give us double the amount of their industry, they would still purchase their clothing at a quarter of the price which, thirty years ago, they were obliged to pay for it. At the suggestion of Mr. SANDARS, the PRESIDENT here read the original and the amended petition. Mr. PEARSON, after stating that Mr, Poulett Thomson deeply lamented his inability to disturb the Corn-laws, and was fully cognizant of their evil consequences upon the prosperity of the country. and his regret that the country had hitherto shown so much apathy on this vital question, expressed his concurrence with the petition read by Mr. Cobden. Under existing circumstances it was better calculated than the other to make an impression upon the legislature. The MAYOR (Mr. Thos. Potter) mentioned that when his father was alive the agriculturists were a most comfortable and prosperous race, quite a contrast to their present state. This degeneration he attributed to the operation of the Corn-laws ; and as to the petitions, he thought that prepared by Mr. Cobden decidedly the best. A long discussion, in which some difference of opinion was manifested, followed between Mr. Sanders, the President, Mr. Cobden, and Mr. J. B. Smith, but it is unnecessary to report it. Mr. J. B. SMITH said the adjournment of the last meeting had been the means of enabling him to obtain a valuable mass of additional information upon this important question. It had been stated in one of the Manchester Papers of Saturday that the whole of the facts he had stated were good for nothing ; and that, as the official value of exported manufactures in 1815 - 16 -17 was thirty-seven millions, and in 1835-6-7 seventy-eight millions, the increase had been forty millions, and we had no. thing to be dissatisfied with. Now the writer of this article must either to very mislead ignorant readers. man, The e h s Chamberobjeet must knew thavehat been wilfully his what was called the " official value" was the va l ue a tt ac h e d beta to the articles in the year 1694, and therefore that it merely indicated quantity. There was another value in the Custom House returns—namely, the " declared value." In the years 1815-16-17 the "real value" was forty-five millions, whilst the " official value" was only thirty-eight millions ; in 1835-6-7 the "official value" was seventy-eight millions.-- but bad the " real value" doubled? No; for it reached only to forty-nine millions; in the first period it was forty-five mil lions, therefore, instead of doubling it had actually decreased four millions, which proved that we were at present export ing double the quantity of goods for the same amount of money. He might take the cotton manufacture as an ex ample. Last year, 1837, our exports amounted to twenty millions; and he had endeavoured to show to the last meeting that the increase in our exports were articles that had gone through only one process, such as unwrought iron and twist, and that these articles, which we formerly manufactured into goods, were now manufactured into that state by foreigners, whereby a large amount of labour was lost to this country. He had shown how this affected the cotton manufacture. Last year we exported twenty mil lions, and of that one half was in cotton twist, but the value of the cotton twist was seven millions of pounds, whilst the value of the manufactured goods was only thirteen millions ; consequently, by the export of yarn instead of manufactures, we sustained a loss of seven millions of money in labour and profit. What would be the situation of our weavers, and of all those connected with the cotton manufacture, if, instead of these seven millions going abroad, they had been spent here for the benefit of the working classes ? The same ap plied to the raw material in iron and steel, only in a much stronger sense than in the cotton manufacture ; for Mr. Bab bage said that one pound of iron, manufactured in France into agricultural instruments, became worth 31. ; manufac tured into musket barrels it was worth 91. ; into swords it was worth 161. ; into files 20/. ; into razors 53/. ; into needles 701. ; into pen-knives 6571. ; and into b uc kl es, t h e enormous sum of 896/. Now, conceive the immense value of the labour thus transferred to foreign shores, and you at once satisfactorily account for the prevailing distress in Bir mingham and Sheffield. There was another important ques tion, which to his mind furnished a strong reason why the petition moved by Mr. Dyer should be preferred to the pe tition proposed by the Directors ; it was the lamentable fact that whilst our exports were nearly stationary, the exports of foreign countries were increasing in' a very alarming ratio. He had before him the declared value of the exports in 1815 and 1836, of three different countries. First of our own ; in 1815 we exported 51 millions ; in 1836, 53 millions, an increase of four per cent. The United States exports in 1815 amounted to 28 millions of dollars ; in 1836 they had reached to 60 millions of dollars, being an increase of more than 200 per cent. France, in 1815, exported to the value of 23 millions of francs, but in 1836 she exported to the value of 74 millions of francs, which was an increase of nearly 400 per cent. ; so that whilst our exports had increased but four per cent., those of France had increased 400 per cent. ! Was 'tot this an alarming fact ? And the increase of the manufactures of foreign countries in dif ferent articles was another interesting fact. He had be fore him a statement of the increase of Russian manu factures from 1821 to 1831, a period of nine years. In that time the cotton manufactures of Russia had increased 230 per cent. ; the silk manufactures 25 per cent. ; the woollen manufactures 30 per cent. ; of flax and hemp 25 per cent. ; of tobacco and snuff 150 per cent. ; and of soap 131 per cent.! Were not these alarming facts? Some gentlemen were pleased to express but little alarm at losing our native manu factures; it might be that those who were spinning cotton twist were doing very well—( No, no)—those who were spin ning the raw material might be doing well—(No, the manufacturers (No, no)—the makers of iron and steel might be found wholly employed, but the manufacturers em ployed to fabricate that iron and steel into different articles, all complained of bad trade. Some of the Directors of this Chamber had expressed surprise to him, that in spite of all his arguments to show the loss of our foreign trade, we should yet flourish apparently as much as ever. Why it was very difficult ' to ruin a country like ours, abounding with wealth, but were these gentlemen insensible to the handwriting on the walls ? Did they not see what was in progress? What was the reason why wealth had accumulated here? Why, our manu factures, and the enormous extension of our productive power, which has enabled us to produce two or three times the quantity of articles from the same means as we could before. And who derived the benefit ? The labouring classes? No ! Why ? Because this prodigious increase in our productive power had been exchanged, not for wheat, the article of food which they were most interested in, but for luxuries, for blocks of wood, or for anything that could not be eaten. The increase in our productive power had been enor mous ; see—in 1813 our steam power represented thirty mil lions of people; but at, present it was equal to the labour of six hundred millions of people ! That it was which had en abled us to bear up against the enormous burdens of taxation and corn laws under which we were groaning. But whenever the time arrived that our competitors attained that point of mechanical skill which we in this country possessed, then was the time we should go down. E ver y a pp rox i ma ti o n on their part to that state of things was so much to our injury, and, therefore, it was of the highest importance that every thing which obstructed the increase of our industry, should be dono away with. He should support the petition moved by Mr. Dyer. Mr. ASHWORTH spoke in favour of the amendment, as did Mr. RAWSON, who gave a number of facts showing the decay of the Nottingham hosiery trade, attributable solely to the Corn-laws. Mr. Rawson also supported the amendment. After Mr. Hooks, Mr. Fernely, and Mr. Gladstone had briefly addressed the Chamber, the PRESIDENT, ill a length ened address, defended Mr. Poulett Thomson from the at tacks of Mr. Cobden, and said, that from his frequent inter course with the Right Hon. Gentleman, as President of this Chamber, he had the best means of knowing that he was ex erting himself, as far as circumstances would permit, to serve his constituents by endeavouring to procure the Corn-laws to be mitigated. He recommended Mr. Cobden, and those who had assailed Mr. Thomson, to compare his speech in the year 1833, when holding the office of Vice-President of the Board of Trade, with that of Mr. Huskisson in 1828, when recommending the House of Commons to adopt the present Corn-law. Mr. COBDEN, after explaining the grounds on which he wished the alarming facts he and others had mentioned to go before Parliament and the Government, said be knew nothing of Mr. Thomson privately, and that in this Cham ber he recognised him only as a public character. And as a public character, he (Mr. Cobden) claimed the right to judge him by his public acts, and he further claimed to say that Mr. Thomson's conduct upon this corn question was open to discussion in any public assembly of his constituents in this borough. And as one of those constituents—and he spoke the sentiments of thousands—he (Mr. Cobden) was dissatisfied with Mr. Thomson's conduct upon the subject of free trade, and especially on that of the Corn-laws. At the last debate, when Mr. Villiers brought forward his motion, he (Mr. Cob den) was in the house, and heard a thousand absurb fallacies which made his very blood tingle, from such honourable indi viduals as the Marquis of Chandos. Mr. D'lsraeli ; and he saw Mr. Thomson sitting upon the Treasury benches as the repre sentative of Manchester, where he ought to have wielded the prodigious influence Manchester had given him, without speak ing a single word in answer to the Tory landlords. When Mr. Mark Philips rose to speak he was shouted down, but Mr. Thomson never uttered a single word! An amendment was here proposed by Mr. HOOLE, and se conded by Mr. FERNELY, to the effect that the meeting be adjourned, for the purpose of the two petitions being amalga mated. It was rejected. The PRESIDENT then rose amidst cries of " Question" to take the sense of the meeting. He proposed the question in the Parliamentary form, the effect of which was to put the original motion first. This was objected to, as not being un derstood, but the Hon. President persisted, till he was absolutely driven from the point. When he put the question, the petition prepared by Mr. Cobden was adopted by a large majority. The PRESIDENT--The amendment is carried. What is your pleasure as to the original motion ? Mr. COBDEN—In this part of the country, when the :origi_ nal motion has been put and lost, that has usually been con sidered as the adoption of the amendment. The meeting then separated. WAR IN INDIA. (From the Agra Uhhbar Extra of Oct. 11.) " DECLARATION ON THE PART OF THE RIGHT HON. THE GOVERNOR-GENERAL OF INDIA. " Simla, October I, 1838. " The Right Honourable the Governor-General of India having, with the concurrence of the Supreme Council, di rected the assemblage of a British force for service across the Indus, his Lordship deems it proper to publish the following exposition of the reasons which have led to this important measure. " It is a matter of notoriety that the treaties entered into by the British Government in the year 1832, with the Ameers of Sinde, the Nawab of Bahawulpore, and Maha Raja Runjeet Singh, had for their object, by opening the navigation of the Indus, to facilitate the extension of commerce, and to gain for the British nation, in Central Asia, that legitimate influence which an interchange of benefits would naturally prodnce. " With a view to invite the aid of the de facto rulers of Afghanistan to the measures necessary for giving full effect to those treaties, Captain Burnes was deputed, towards the close of the year 1836, on a mission to Dost Mahomed Khan, the Chief of Cabool. The original objects of that officer's mis sion were purely of a commercial nature. Whilst Captain Burnes, however, was on his journey to Cabool, information was received by the Governor-General that the troops of Dost Mahomed Khan bad made a sudden and unprovoked attack on those of our ancient ally, Maha Raja Runjeet Singh. It was naturally to be apprehended that his Highness the Maha Raja would not be slow to avenge this aggression ; and it was to be feared that the flames of war being once kindled in the very regions into which we were endeavouring to extend our com merce, the peaceful and beneficial purposes of the British Go vernment would be altogether frustrated. In order to avert a re sult so calamitous,the Governor- General resolved on authorising Captain Burnes to intimate to Dost Mahomed Khan, that if he should evince a disposition to come to just and resonable terms with the Maha Raja, his Lordship would exert his good offices with his Highness for the restoration of an ami cable understanding between the two Powers. The Maha Raja, with the characteristic confidence which he has uniformly placed in the faith and friendship of the British nation, at once assented to the proposition of the Governor. General to the effect that, in the mean time, hostilities on his part should be suspended. " It subsequently came to the knowledge of the Governor- General, that a Persian army was besieging Herat; that in trigues were actively prosecuted throughout Afghanistan, for the purpose of extending Persian influence and authority to the banks of, and even beyond the Indus; and that the Court of Persia bad not only commenced a course of injury and insult to the officers of her Majesty's mission in the Persian territory, but had afforded evidence of being engaged in designs wholly at variance with the principles and objects of its alliance with Great Britain. " After much time spent by Captain Burnes in fruitless ne gotiation at Cabool, it appeared that Dost Mahomed Khan, chiefly in consequence of his reliance upon Persian encourage ment and assistance, persisted, as respected his misunderstand ing with the Sikhs, in urging the most unreasonable preten sions, such as the Governor-General could not, consistently with justice and his regard for the friendship of Maha Raja Runjeet Singh, be the channel of submitting to the considera tion of his Highness : that he avowed schemes of aggrandize. ment and ambition injurious to the security and peace of the frontiers of India; and that he openly threatened, in further. ance of those schemes, to call in every foreign aid which he could command. Ultimately he gave his undisguised support to the Persian designs in Afghanistan, of the unfriendly and injurious character of which, as concerned the British power in India, he was well apprised, and by his utter disregard of the views and interests of the British Government, compelled Captain Burnes to leave Cabool without having effected any of the objects of his mission. " It was now evident that no further interference could be exercised by the British Government to bring about a good understanding between the Sikh ruler and Dost Mahomed Khan, and the hostile policy of the latter chief showed too plainly that so long as Cabool remained under his Government, we could never hope that the tranquillity of our neighbourhood would be secured, or that the interests of our Indian empire would be preserved inviolate. " The Governor. General deems it in this place necessary to revert to the siege of Herat, and the conduct of the Persian nation. The siege of that city has now been carried on by the Persian army for many months. The attack upon it was a most unjustfiable and cruel aggression, perpetrated and continued notwithstandin_ the solemn and repeated re monstrances of the British Envoy at the court of Persia, and after every just and becoming offer of accommodation had been made and rejected. The besieged have behaved with a gallantry and fortitude worthy of the justice of their cause, and the Governor-General would vet indulge the hope that their heroism may enable them to maintain a successful defence until succours shall reach them from British India. In the meantime, the ulterior designs of Persia, affecting the interests of the British Goverment, have been, by a succes sion of events, more and more openly manifested. The Go vernor-General has recently ascertained by an official despatch from Mr. M•Neill, her Majesty's Envoy, that his Excellency has been compelled, by the refusal of his just demands, and by a systematic course of disrespect adopted towards him by the Persian Government, to quit the Court of the Shah, and to make a public declaration of the cessation of all intercourse between the two Governments. The necessity under which Great Britain is placed of regarding the present advance of the Persian arms into Afghanistan as an act of hostility towards herself, has also been officially communicated to the Shah under the express order of her Majesty's Government. " The chiefs of Candahar (brothers of Dost Mahomed Khan, of Cabool) have avowed their adherence to the Persian policy, with the same full knowledge of its opposition to the rights and interests of the British nation in India ; and have been openly assisting in the operations against Herat. " In the crisis of affairs consequent upwa the retirement of our Envoy from Cabool, the Governor- General felt the importandn of taking immediate measures for arresting the rapid progress of foreign intrigue and aggression towards our own territories. " His attention was naturally drawn at this conjunc ture to the position and claims of Shah Shooja-001-Nlolk, a monarch who, when in power, had cordially acceded to the measures of united resistance to external enmity which were at that time judged necessary by the British Government, and who, on his empire being us ur p e d b y i ts present raters, had found an honourable asylum in the British dominions. " It had been clearly ascertained, from the information furnished by the various officers who have visited Afghanistan, that the Barukzye chiefs, from their disunion and ,unpopu larity, were ill fitted, under any circumstances, to be useful allies to the British Government, and to aid us in our just and necessary measure; of national defence. Yet so long as they refrained from proceedings injurious to our interests and security, the British Government acknowledged and respected their autlaority. But a different policy appeared to be now more th an j us tifi e d b y the conduct of those chiefs, and to be indisp, ;usable to our own safet The welfare of o ur pos y sessifins in th e East requires that . we should have on our wes terra frontier an ally who is interested in re sisting aggression, ar,d est a bli s hi ng tranquillity, in the p i n e of chief; ranging Themselves in subservience to a hostile power, and seeking to promote schemes of conquest and aggrandizement. " Auer serious and mature deliberation the Governor- General v," s satisfied that a pressing necessity, as well as every consideration of policy and justiceThV a 7" ----- • al warranted us i n espousing the cause of Shah Shooja-001-Moolk, whose popu larity throughout Afghanistan had been proved to his Lord ship by the strong and unanimous testimony of the best authorities. Having arrived at this determination, the Go vernor- General was further of opinion that it was just and proper, no less from the position of Maha Raja Runjeet Singh, than from his undeviating friendship towards the British Government, that his Highness should have the offer of becoming a party to the contemplated operations. Mr. Macnaghten was accordingly deputed in June last to the Court of his Highness, and the result of his mission has been the conclusion of a tripartite treaty by the British Govern ment, the Maha Raja, and Shah Shoeja-001-Mnolk, whereby his Highness is guaranteed in his present possessions, and has bound himself to co-operate for the restoration of the Shah to the throne of his ancestors. The friends and enemies of any one of the contracting parties have been declared to be the friends and enemies of all. Various points have been adjusted which had been the subjects of discussion between the British Government and his Highness the Mahe Raja, the identity of whose interests with those of the Honourable Company has now been made apparent to all the surrounding States. A guaranteed independence will, upon favourable conditions, be tendered to the Ameers of Sinde, and the in tegrity of Herat, in the possession of its present ruler, will be fully respected; while by the measures completed, or in progress, it may reasonably be hoped that the general freedom and security of commerce will be promoted ; that the name and just influence of the British Government will gain their proper footing among the nations of Central Asia, that tran quillity will be established upon the most important frontier of India, and that a lasting barrier will be raised against hostile intrigue and encroachment. "His Majesty Shah Shooja-00l- Moolk will enter Afganis tan surrounded by his own troops, and will be supported against foreign interference and factious opposition by a Bri tish army. The Governor-General confidently hopes that the Shah will be speedily replaced on his throne by his own sub jects and adherents; and when once he shall be secured in power, and the independence and integrity of Afghanistan established, the British army will be withdrawn. The Go vernor-General has been led to these measures by the duty which is imposed upon him of providing for the security of the possessions of the British Crown; but he rejoices that, in the discharge of this duty, he will be enabled to assist in restoring the union and prosperity of the Afghan people. Throughout the approaching operations British influence will be sedulously employed to further every measure of general benefit, to reconcile differences, to secure oblivion of injuries, and to put an end to the distractions by which, for so many years, the welfare and hap piness of the Afghans have been impaired. Even to the chiefs whose hostile proceedings have given just cause of offence to the British Government, it will seek to secure liberal and honourable treatment, on their tendering early submission, and ceasing from opposition to that course of measures which may be judged the most suitable for the general advantage of their country. " By order of the Right Hon. the Governor-General of India, " W. H. MACHAGHTEN, " Secretary to the Government of India, with the Governor-General." NOTIFICATION. " With reference to the preceding declaration, the follow lag appointments are made : Sir. W. H. Macnaghten, Secretary to Government, will assume the functions of Envoy and Minister on the part of the Government of India at the court of Shah Shooja-00l- Moolk. Mr. Macnaghten will be assisted by the following officers:— •' Captain Alexander Burnes, of the Bombay establishment, who will be employed under Mr. Macriaghton's directions as Envoy to the Chief of Kelat or other States. " Lieutenant F. D'Ercy Todd, of the Bengal Artillery, to be Political Assistant and Military Secretary to the Envoy and Minister. " Lieutenant Eldred Potting►er, of the Bombay Artillery ; Lieutenant R. Leech, of the Bombay Engineers; Mr. P. B. Lord, of the Bombay Medical Establishment, to be Political Assistants to ditto ditto. " Lieutenant E. B. Conolly, of the 6th Regiment Bengal Cavalry, to command the escort of the Envoy and Minister, and to be Military Assistant to ditto ditto. .... " Mr. G. J. Berwick, of the Bengal Medical Establish. ment, to be Surgeon to ditto ditto. " W. H. MACNAGHTEN, " Secretary to the Government of India with the Governor-General." FROM LAST NIGIIT'S GAZETTE, Commission by the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Surrey. Ist ReFiment of Royal Surrey Militia—W. P. Jervis, Esq., to be Captain, vice Ellis, deceased, Dec. 12. Commission lay the Lord Lieutenant of the County of Derby. Radborne Troop of Yeomanry Cavalry—A. Arkwright, Gent., to be Lieutenant, Dec. 1. WHITEHALL, DEC. 17. The Lord Chancellor has appointed Benjamin Pargeter, of Stour bridge, in the County of Worcester, Gent., to be a Master Extra ordinary in the High Court of Chancery. DECLARATION OF INSOLVENCY. BENJAMIN BRIGGS, grocer, Chatham. BANKRUPTCY ENLARGED. J lIN MUND AY, artificial flower-maker, Wood-street, Cheap. side, from Dec. 25 to Jan. 1, at the Court of Bankruptcy. BANKRUPTS. FRANCIS FIDL tiR HAND GREEN, woollen-draper, Tot tenham-court-road, to surrender Jan. 8, at one, and Feb. 1, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Clark, St. Swithin's-lane, official assignee ; Turner and Hensman, Basing-lane. THOMAS BENJAMIN KING, licensed victualler, King street, Aldgate, Jan. 4, at one, and Feb. 1, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Graham, Basinghall-street, official assignee ; Ivimey, Chancery-lane. JACOB RAY, builder, St. Dunstan's-hill, Jan. 8, at half-past eleven, and Feb. 1, at twelve, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Groom, Abchurch-lane, official assigne e ; A s hl ey , Sh ored i tch. WILLIAM DAVIES, builder, Leominster, Jan. 3, and Feb. 1, at eleven, at the King's Arms Inn, Leominster. Collins, Leo minster ; Smith, Chancery-lane, London. JOHN BATES, clothier, Almondbury, Yorkshire. Jan. 8, and Feb. 1, at one, at the George Hotel, H u dd ers fi e ld . Ri ckards and Walker, Lincoln's-inn-fields, London ; Messrs. Clough, Hudders field. WILLIAM EDWARDS, china and earthenware manufacturer, Blackfordby, Leicestershire, Dec. 29, and Feb. 1, at twelve, at the King's Head Inn, Loughborough. Clowes and Wedlake, King's Bench-walk, Temple, London ; Thornewill, Burton-on-Trent. WILLIAM GRANT, watch-maker, Haymarket, Jan. 8, at half-past eleven, and Feb. 1, at eleven, at the Court of Bankruptcy. Alsagar, Birchin-lane, Cornhill, official assignee; Brooksbank and Farn, Gray's Inn-square. GEORGE GREEN, earthenware manufacturer, Kilnhurst Pottery, Rotherham, Yorkshire, Jan. 1, and Feb. 1, at twelve, at the Town-hall, Sheffield. Rodgers, Devonshire-square, Bishops gate-street, London ; Brookfield, Raymond-buildings, Gray's Inn, London ; Rodgers and Son, Sheffield. JOHN TRUTTER and ROBERT TRUTTER, corn-mer chants, Cambridge, Jan. 10, and Feb. 1, at eleven, at the Red Lion Inn, Cambridge. Egan, Waterman, and Wright, Essex street, Strand, London ; Adcock, Cambridge. DIVIDENDS. At the Court of Bankruptcy, Basinghall-street. J. Saunders, jun., bookseller, Paternoster-row, Jan. 14, at half past eleven—D. Francis, surgeon, Goswell-street-road, Jan. 14, at half-past twelve—J. Cates, jun., surgeon, Beaumont-street, St. Marylebone, Jan. 14, at half-past one—J. Grant and J. Reid, ship owners, Mansell-street, Minories, Jan. 11, at one—J. Miller, sta tioner, Drury-lane, Jan. 11, at two—T. C. Matheson, shipowner, Mansell-street, Minories, Jan. 11, at half-past one—R. Armistead, straw hat manufacturer, Liverpool, Jan. 11, at eleven-.•W..1. Cockerill, music seller, Poultry, Jan. 11, at twelve—G. B. Hard ing, Cannon-street, City, Jan. 11, at eleven—J. D. Stevens, paper maker, Two Waters, Hertfordshire, Jan. 12, at one—W. Elkins, bookseller, Oxford-street, Jan. 11, at two. In the Country. H. Jones, china manufacturer, Hanley, Staffordshire, Jan. 11, at ten, at the Swan Inn, Hanley—T. Compson, Hales Owen, Shrop shire, Jan. 15, at eleven, at Dee's Royal Hotel, Birmingham—G. Lowthian, draper, Exeter, Jan. 29, at twelve, at the Clarence Hotel, Exeter—J. T. Thring, Warminster, Wiltshire, Jan. 9, at eleven, at the Bath Arms Inn, Warminster--J. Cowgill and Co., Manchester, Jan. 17, at eleven, at the Commissioners' Rooms, Manchester—R. and W. Senior, dealers, Manchester, Jan. 17, at ten, at the Commissioners' Rooms, Manchester—E. Jones, linen draper, Swansea, Glamorganshire, Jan. 18, at one, at the Mack worth Arms Inn, Swansea. CERTIFICATES. —JAN. 11. J. B. Falkner, sharebroker, Liverpool —E. Walker and Co., clothiers, Thurstonland, Yorkshire—R. Nicholson, wine merchant, Leicester-place—J. B. Law, warehouseman, Bow-lane, Cheapside —T. Boyle, muslin manufacturer, Alancheqer—H. A. Eaton miller, Lutley Mill, Worcestershire—H. E. Mosely, licensed vic tualler, Forest Gate, West Ham, Essex. PARTNERSHIPS DISSOLVED. R. Hall and T. Beesley, joiners, Garstang, Lancashire—R. J. Ravenscroft and W. G. Nisbet, cabinet makers, King-street, Hol born—T. Marevood, jun. and Co., printers, Sunderland—J. Griffee and C. Palmer, brush manufacturers, Cloak-lane, City— W. H. Dikes and W. Gibson, ship builders, Kingston-upon-Hull, Yorkshire—W. :levan and W. Whitehead, iron founders, Dukin field, Cheshire —W. Kilburn and Co., iron founders, Elland, York shire—J. and J. W. Gratton, maltsters, Chesterfield—S. A. Hur ton and P. W. Griffiths, letter-press printers, Liverpool—J. Brooke and Co., iron founders, Halifax—G. Porter and W. T. Arnold—J. H. Ivan and Co., distillers, Battersea—A. Schloss and E. Allpress, booksellers, Great Russell-street, Bloomsbury—J. and A. poorhouse, brewers,butehersiiveoldrphoaoml., Lancashire—T. Lambert and E. Bond, vinegar Dr. Birkbeck's complaint has taken a favourable turn, and he is out of danger. MR. WARD'S NEW WORK.--The title of the new production by the accomplished author of " Tremaine," ~ Pictures of the World, at Home an d Ab roa d," i s most happily borne out in the three masterly delineations to which it refers. The " pictures are as striking and graphic in their general effect as they are true to nature in their minutest details. The titles of them are alone suffi cient to pique that curiosity which their perusal will so a mply gratify. " Penruddock ; or, the High-minded ;" and " The Enthusiasts !" What promises do these titles give, when applied to two tales by one of the most amiable of " enthusiasts," and most " high-minded" of English gen tlemen. The th"d tale is called " Sterling ; or the Knight of Swithin's ;" very felicitously delineates and contrasts the various modes offashionabk and would-be fashionable life. Yesterday morning, in most of the public thorough fares, placards were posted in tradesmen's windows, an. nouncing that after a certain date (in most instances from and after the Ist of January of the ensuing year) their shops and warehouses would be closed at eight o'clock. Some few, however, stated that they had adopted nine as the hour for closing. 0 1